


Good Distractions

by Floral-Foxes (stilalalinski)



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Charlie deserves the world, M/M, Mac is a confused gay, Mac is an idiot, Post-Season/Series 12, Transphobia, let charmac kiss rcg u cowards, trans charlie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 03:31:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14416749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilalalinski/pseuds/Floral-Foxes
Summary: Dennis has been gone for a week now, and Mac has stopped showing up at Paddy's. Obviously, Charlie has to make sure his best friend isn't dead in a ditch somewhere. There's some angst and revelations in the meantime.





	Good Distractions

**Author's Note:**

> Um, yes hello? I'm...writing an Always Sunny fic? What? Who am I?
> 
> Also, yeah sorry, I wanted to get out that 4+1 fic before Infinty War but uhhhh don't think that's gonna happen.
> 
> Anyways! CharMac is endgame and I want them to get married and live happily ever after so uh here ya go. 
> 
> I'd apologize for this being OOC but at this point I don't really care :D

Dennis has only been gone a week when Mac doesn’t show up at the bar.

It isn’t uncommon for a member of the gang to miss a day or two of work without letting anyone know why, but as the fifth day without Mac rolls around Charlie, Dee, and Frank get suspicious.

“You don’t think he’s dead do you?” Dee asks plainly and tips her beer towards the empty stool Mac usually occupies.

“Dude, no way!” Charlie gasps around his bottle. “We have a pact, okay? When we die it’ll be together. I’d know if he was dead,” he nods resolutely, content with his reasoning.

Dee purses her lips but doesn’t say anything, doesn’t mention the times Mac and Dennis have definitely done stupid shit without Charlie’s knowledge.

“Well I’m tired of doing his work,” Frank gruffs.

“What work?” Dee scoffs as Charlie frowns at Frank. “The only one working here is me,” she adds as she pops another bottle open and glides around the bar to hand it off to one of the regulars. Charlie swivels on his stool to watch her, face scrunched in concentration.

“You don’t really think he’s dead, do you, Frank?”

“Don’t know and don’t care,” Frank says sliding off the stool. “I got shit to do in the back, don’t disturb me,” he points a grubby finger at Charlie as he stalks away.

“What’s Frank going to do?” Dee asks once she’s back behind the bar.

“Probably go whack off,” Charlie shrugs.

“God, ew, Charlie, gross--” Dee makes a face and quickly downs herself a shot of whiskey. Charlie watches her in amusement and takes another sip of his beer. The two quickly lapse into silence, their awkward position as friends suddenly loud in the empty bar. Charlie shifts on his stool, picking at a random piece of string on his jacket.

“Did you say something--”

“What?” Dee’s laugh is stiff as she pours herself another shot, eyes anywhere but on Charlie. Without Mac and Dennis as a buffer the shift in their relationship has become large and awkward and Dee really just wants everything to be like it was--

“Hey, Charlie--”

“I’m gonna go check on Mac,” Charlie interrupts, jumping off his stool with wide eyes. “Just to make sure he’s like, yanno, okay and all that?”

“Hey, wait!” Dee shouts as Charlie is halfway to the door. “We’re still open! You can’t just--Goddammit, Charlie!”

* * *

 

Charlie arrives at Mac’s apartment quickly, panting from his jog over (not that he’d ever admit that). He hesitates once before rapping a short tune on the door, bouncing on his feet as he waits. Silence greets him from the other side and Charlie frowns, knocking harder.

“Mac?” he calls through the door, jiggling the door handle when there’s still no response a couple seconds later. With a small frown Charlie twists the knob and the door swings open to reveal a disaster zone.

Boxes of pizza are stacked on the counter, plates strewn across the living room floor, and a nest of blankets and pillows sits in front of the TV.

“Uhh, Mac, buddy?” Charlie calls cautiously as he steps over the garbage littering the floor. A lump under the blankets moves and a mess of brown hair pokes out as Mac wiggles around to turn sleepy, red eyes on Charlie.

“Char?” Mac’s voice is sleep rumpled and hoarse in the way voices get after a long cry. He blinks blearily up at Charlie from under his cocoon of blankets and rubs bearlily at his eye. “Whadda doin here, man?”

Heart tripping painfully in his chest, Charlie walks farther into the room so he can plop in front of Mac on the floor.

“Dude, you haven’t been to Paddy’s in five days,” he begins, eyes searching Mac’s face. “Wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Mac’s face scrunches into a frown and he drapes the blanket back over his head, slipping sideways so he’s tucked into a ball again.

“M’fine.”

Charlie looks at the lump in front of him in exasperation, unsure of how to approach this subject. The first couple of days after Dennis left Mac had seemed relatively okay. He wasn’t quite as perky, didn’t seem as eager to boast and show himself off, but he was okay. Maybe. Looking around the apartment, Charlie figures he probably wasn’t as okay as they thought.

It was no secret Mac loved Dennis, everyone knew, and everyone knew nothing would ever come of it--they’d hoped Mac knew that, too. Maybe on some level he did, but that didn’t stop him from taking Dennis’s departure as a form of break up, it would seem.

With a sigh Charlie shrugs out of his shoes and jacket, kicking them out of the way so he can make himself comfortable in the nest.

“Mac, come on, man, sit up so we can talk,” he tries, but his best friend does not move. Charlie taps a quick tune onto his leg then shrugs, mind made up. “Fine, then I’ll come to you.”

The bundle of blankets is huge and comfy and Charlie burrows himself into them, carefully maneuvering his way under Mac’s. Their legs bump as Charlie rolls under the covers until he’s sharing Mac’s space, noses brushing in a gesture so intimate Charlie wants to runaway.

“The hell you doin?” Mac squints, the ghost of his voice warm against Charlie’s skin. He hasn’t turned away or freaked out about how close they are, so Charlie takes that has a good sign. Mac’s hair sticks to the blanket in a wave of static and Charlie obliterates the thought of smoothing it down before it can fully cross his mind.

“Have you been under here the past five days?” Charlie asks softer than he intended, something about the blanket fortress makes him feel the need to whisper, to contain their conversation to their small universe.

“Maybe,” Mac grunts, eyes darting to Charlie’s lips and away in an instant. “Did you brush your teeth or somethin’, dude?” Charlie blinks a little, startled at the non-sequitur, tongue darting out to wet his lips unconsciously. Mac’s eyes catch his mouth again and Charlie fights the urge to scoot closer as Mac slowly puts distance between their faces.

“You gotta come out from here, man, it’s not healthy,” he continues, ignoring Mac's question, and Mac’s lashes cast long shadows as he blinks away.

“I haven’t been feelin’ good is all.”

Charlie sighs and a few strands of Mac’s hair flutter. “Dude, it’s okay to miss him.”

Mac’s brows furrow and he shifts as if to get up, his breath starting quicken. Charlie settles a quick hand onto Mac’s face, keeping him in place, his legs tangling with Mac’s so he can’t run away.

“Seriously, Mac,” he says evenly, expression serious. “I know the gang doesn’t do emotional shit, but it’s just you and me pal, it’s okay.”

Mac’s eyes are wide and shiny when he looks at Charlie, his breath hitching when the smaller man brushes his thumb gently against his cheek.

“Do you think it was me?” his voice is wrecked when he asks, and Charlie frowns.

“Do I think Dennis left because of you?”

“Yeah,” Mac nods slightly, cheek pressing into Charlie’s palm more. “‘Cause I’m, you know--”

Charlie makes a face and it takes everything in him not to slap Mac. The man can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes but Charlie knows he’s not that stupid.

“You think Dennis left because you’re gay? Seriously, dude?” His voice is a little screechy and more than disbelieving, but of all the reasons Mac might have come up with--

“What, man, it’s not like I’ve been out that long! Maybe he didn't want to live with a gay man!” Mac hisses back and holy shit Mac actually believes this is why Dennis left. Charlie frowns and pulls Mac’s face closer to his, eyes narrowing as he stares him down.

“Imma let you in on a little secret, bro,” he begins, “we’ve known you’re gay since we met you, okay; I’ve known since we were fucking 10 years old--Dennis didn’t leave because you’re gay,” he says in one giant breath.

Mac scoffs and rolls his eyes, shifting awkwardly in Charlie’s grasp.

“There’s no way you could have known that, man, I was the epitome of a hetersoxeual male,” he drawls, completely serious.

If Charlie’s eyes could roll to the back of his head they would have by now goddamn.

“Bro, I distinctly recall sitting in your room in 7th grade high off our asses crying because we had never kissed anyone,” Charlie grins. “So we--”

“Okay, hey, woah!” Mac interrupts sharply, his own hand slapping to cover Charlie’s mouth. “We said we’d never talk about that.”

“Is just us here,” Charlie mumbles under the hand and fights the urge to lick it just to piss Mac off.

“Whatever man, you had boobs at the time so it doesn’t count,” Mac snaps before his eyes go wide and he sucks in a breath. “Dude--”

Charlie feels his face flush, blood rushing to his ears as he tries to remind himself Mac’s an idiot he’s an ignorant harmless idiot. The hand is gone from his mouth and Charlie wishes it was back so he could fucking bite.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” he says tightly, “and leave you to your own fucking pity party.”

Charlie throws the covers off of himself and rolls to sit up, Mac sputtering half-nonsense at him as he goes.

“No, dude, you know I didn’t--” Mac is scrambling to untangle himself from his web of blankets, half falling when he reaches towards Charlie. “Fuck, fuck Charlie just, wait, please!” he calls as Charlie slips his shoes back on.

Mac is an asshole and he’ll always be an asshole, and Charlie knows this, he fucking _knows_ he doesn’t mean any harm but _fuck_.

“Dennis didn’t leave because you’re gay, Mac, no one gives a fuck that you’re gay,” Charlie hisses as he throws his jacket on. “No one gives a fuck that you have a crush on Dennis, either! Dennis left because Dennis wanted to leave, and now you act like the world has gone to shit,” he’s panting now and he’s not going to cry _he’s not_.

“You guys knew I had a crush on--”

“Yes, we knew Mac, we all knew!” Charlie shouts, spinning around to face Mac. “Dennis knew, Dee knew, Frank knew for god’s sake,” Charlie feels his chest heave. “I especially knew when you stopped tryin to hang with me, when it became Dennis this, Dennis that!”

Years of slowly falling behind, of watching his best friend leave him for someone better, smarter, more attractive comes spilling out and Charlie can only let it happen, gasp as his eyes flood.

“Charlie--” Mac is gaping openly at Charlie now, expression so open and confused Charlie can’t help but laugh a harsh, brittle sound.

“Dennis is gone,” he mutters, hollow, “but you keep forgetting you’re not alone.”

The ensuing silence is loud so Charlie spins on his heel, intent on storming home and getting blackout drunk.

Fuck Mac and his stupid unrequited love, his stupid fucking crush on a straight man who will never love him back, his stupid transphobia and his stupid fucking puppy eyes.

He’s barely opened the door when it’s slammed shut, his body forcibly spun to face a glowering Mac. Mac’s arms cage Charlie’s head in and if he felt trapped before he’s surely suffocating now.

“Stop, Charlie, just fucking stop,” Mac’s voice is low and dangerous in a way that makes Charlie pause, to notice the way Mac’s eyes look just as wet as his feel. Mac takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, head hanging so low his hair brushes Charlie’s chin.

“First of all,” Mac swallows, sighs, and forces himself to meet Charlie’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Charlie asks dumbly, eyes searching Mac’s face for something, anything, to give away what he’s thinking.

“For, yanno, what I said earlier about the whole,” Mac gestures uselessly at Charlie and grimaces, “boob thing. You weren’t---ugh, man, I suck at this.”

Charlie can’t help but grin as Mac stutters his way through an apology, ‘sorry’ has never been Mac’s forte and it definitely hasn’t improved any with age.

“It’s like this, okay,” Mac gathers his thoughts. “I always knew you as a boy, right? And then I found out you weren’t,” Mac raises a hand when Charlie opens his mouth to shout, “You are okay I know you are, but back then I didn’t, it didn’t register, right? I was stupid--still am stupid,” he amends at Charlie’s glare. “But I thought maybe you were actually a chick so, so I thought the way I felt--” Mac breaks off in a harsh breath, gaze anywhere but on Charlie.

“What are you saying, Mac?” Charlie asks hesitantly.

“I thought if you were a girl my feelings for you were okay,” Mac says in one breath, mouth pulled down. “And when it finally clicked that you were still a dude I fucking freaked, okay?”

“But Dennis was safe. I had never kissed him, never liked him like I liked...he was safe because he wasn’t realistic,” Mac confesses, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. Charlie is grinning stupidly and he really should still be mad but it’s hard when Mac is looking like a kicked puppy.

“You liked me?” he asks instead. Mac rolls his eyes and takes a step back.

“That’s what you got from all of that?” he asks with a half-hearted chuckle.

“Uhh, yeah? You had a fucking crush on me, dude,” Charlie is definitely beaming now, his heart hammering for a different reason.

“I already said that, yeah, goddamn,” Mac huffs and crosses his arms.

“I made you realize you were gay, holy shit!” Charlie bounces on his feet and crosses so Mac’s facing him again. “Okay but wait, dude,” Charlie hesitates, hung up on one problem. “If you knew Dennis was unrealistic why are you so heartbroken, man? You had to have known it would never--”

“Of course I knew,” Mac snaps, “he was still one of my best friends, though. Plus--” Charlie waits for Mac to continue but the taller man has clammed up, face turning a brilliant shade of pink.

“Plus what, dude?”

“Plus he was agooddistraction,” he mumbles and Charlie has no idea what the fuck he just said.

“I honestly have no idea what the fuck you just said.”

“He was a good distraction, okay!” Mac forces out evading Charlie’s eyes and oh.

_Oh._

“Why would he need to be a distraction?” Charlie asks lightly, tilting his head to try and meet Mac’s eyes.

“Because,” Mac says vaguely.

“I mean,” Charlie continues, taking a tiny step closer, “there really isn’t a need for him to be a distraction.”

Mac’s gaze snaps up and suddenly their faces are inches apart, breath mingling in small gasps. Mac’s eyes dart to Charlie’s mouth then back up.

“No?”

“Nuh-uh,” Charlie grins easily. “Here’s another little secret,” he whispers, hand raising to Mac’s waist. “I had a crush on you, too.”

Mac’s mouth is warm in all the ways Charlie remembers, sweet and soft and pliant as they part to deepen the kiss. Charlie runs a hand through Mac’s hair, tugging lightly on the strands by his neck, and sighs when Mac pulls him closer, tilting his head with a large hand.

Mac is making soft noises and Charlie is afraid his heart might explode.

“Dude,” Charlie pants as they break apart, “Mac, Mac we gotta-”

“Hmm,” Mac hums and presses feathery kisses to Charlie’s throat.

“Fuck, okay--” Charlie breaks off when Mac nips at the sensitive skin under his jaw and runs his tongue over the mark, sucking in what is surely going to be a nasty hickey in a couple of hours.

“We gotta,” a kiss, “we gotta talk about this dude,” another kiss, falling just short of his mouth.

“We will,” Mac agrees, pressing another light kiss to the other corner of his mouth. “But we can talk later, yeah?”

Charlie pulls back to stare at Mac; Mac, who’s lips are red and swollen, hair mussed and eyes wild; Mac, his best friend of over 20 years, the man he trusts more than anyone in his life, the man he maybe might love--

“Yeah, yeah later is good.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd blame the group chat on this, but honestly this is the best goddamn decision I've ever made.


End file.
